The Order
by Pynrieg
Summary: Twenty five years after Voldemort dies, do old demons still haunt our heroes? Or must the remains of the Order face a new enemy? Where does this path end? Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
1. At Midnight, All the Agents

Guardians

Summary: One dead cop. One dead friend. Twenty five years after Voldemort is gone, do old demons remain? Or must Luna and Co. face a new, much more terrifying new enemy?

* * *

Luna glided from one shadow to another. Years of practice had taught her when to move and when to hide from the Aurors, despite the fact she was now one of them. At least, she was during the day.

"Looks like Longbottom's past finally got caught up with him, eh?" stated the first auror.

"All I know is that it was definitely a long way to the bottom," joked the second detective.

Indeed it was a long fall for anyone from the thirty-second story. The first auror thought out loud, "I wonder if you're awake, you know, when you hit the black-top." Luna felt a bit sick, thinking of Neville falling, perhaps looking at his attackers as he plummeted to the ground below him.

"I really don't want to think about that. Wanna grab a coffee?" asked the other auror, as they walked out of the crime scene. It took Luna a half hour to find what she was looking for. Behind a picture of Neville's parents, there was an old, weathered chocolate frog's card with the name of Harry Potter scrawled across the bottom, yet no picture in it. She recognized the Order's old secret way of communication, back when the second war really got bad. Turning, she quietly left the building for her desk, bent on finding out what demons had resurfaced.

The next day Luna read the report: It was almost immediately ruled out as a burglary gone wrong; it was a clear hit, although most of Neville's stuff was ransacked. There was a small struggle which ended when his wand was snapped. The attackers then threw the defeated ex-Order member through a thick glass window with enough force to make his body fly into the middle of the street below, right into busy mid-day traffic. There was no trace of magic used by either the attackers or Neville.

_ Well,_ Luna thought, _they must have known that we could identify magic, and therefore went muggle on the attack. It was a vicious attack, so it must have been personal. Perhaps some old enemies form the war. No one newer would have been out of jail just yet, so I'll be looking for history here. Besides myself, there's Ron, Hermione, Gin, and Harry who use to partner with Neville. Maybe another dark lord, perhaps? If so, why not Harry first? Unless it is Harry… need sleep…_

Thinking of the Woolly Skittlerumps and what happens when they don't rest, Luna finished her day, and went to her lonely apartment to stare at the back of her eyelids for the rest of the night.

* * *

Ron left another date with his newest girlfriend. Needless to say, he went home earlier then he would have liked. His small house wasn't nearly as homey as the Burrow, but not many places were. It worked for him. Approaching the front door, he noticed he had left the kitchen light on. Seeing the corresponding window wide open, he grew worried.

Drawing nearer his stoop, the ex-Order member pulled out his wand from its hiding place. Silently opening the door, Ron slowly worked the correct angles of attack to make sure he wasn't getting a surprise in the hallway. The sight of a shadow passed across the kitchen door, confirming he had a visitor. Ron's mind struggled to recall what the Order had instilled in him twenty years ago for just this situation. He barreled into the door for his onslaught, only then noticing who it was.

"Luna!"

"Good morning, Ron" Luna said as she slurped up some beans from a can. "Got hungry while I was waiting. Hope you don't mind…"

"No, no, but you know it isn't morning."

"Sure it is. Only in Moscow right now, though. That's where I was born, and how I set my watch."

"Of course Luna…" Ron stumbled out.

"Anyway, just wanted to let you know Neville's dead."

"What!? When did this happen?"

"Yesterday. Someone thought he had a high-opinion of himself, so let him met up with the ground again."

"You mean someone threw…"

"Right onto Euston Road. From his apartment. Just thought you'd want to know, since we're probably next on the list. Try locking your windows next time, too easy to break in. Tootles," And with that, she left through the same window to enter through, and then apperated away to find the next person on her own list, ignoring the sobbing man behind her.

* * *

Harry was working with a new magic. He did that a lot, much to Ginny's sorrow. Sure, they were married, but Ginny felt more distant from him ever since he inherited Magic itself. It bended to his will, or perhaps Magic bended Harry to its will. It didn't matter to his wife. With all those new advances of magic, there was such little time to spend with her. Of course, society demanded that newer, safer magic be found, and Harry had to heed that call.

Luna knew she was bound to set off a few wards if she hadn't been one of those who made them. Even so, it was a difficult task breaking into the home of Harry Potter.

Ginny had woken up to her husband's hands caressing her side while his lips played with her ear. She moaned in pleasure before she realized that another set of hands were messaging her feet. She jumped out of the bed, only to see 2 Harrys with her in bed.

"What the hell, Harry?!"

"What, I can't pleasure my wife?"

"But why are there two of you?"

"I just copied myself. I know I've been lax lately with you, but I can't get a break from my work"

"Are you telling me that you copied yourself to be with me?"

"Just to make you happy…"

"Wait one moment…" she stomped out to what Harry called the lab. Inside, she found another Harry messing with a machine she didn't know how to work. Her face reddened with anger.

"Harry James Potter!" She yelled in anger, "I am your bloody wife, not some dumb project of yours. Sometimes I require some attention, not some damn attempt to please me. I want you to be there for me. Not any copies. You. I've had it up to…" Her speech was interrupted by Luna dropping into the lab from the above sky-light, only to have Harry float her in mid-air before she crashed onto the floor.

"Good morning. Sorry to disturb you guys, but Neville's dead."

Ginny paled, while Harry allowed the magic to turn Luna upright and standing on the floor.

"Yes. I've heard. Auror command asked me to look into it, but they didn't use any magic, so I can't trace them. Command thinks it's linked to the Flutterby root ring Neville was working."

"Maybe, or some ghosts have decided to resurface."

"Harry, get the nut out of here when we're fighting." Ginny whined.

"Sorry. I'm not leaving until…." Luna started to say, when Harry lifted his hand, and Luna felt odd for a second before her apartment melted into view as Harry magically placed her there. " … I've had my say…" With no one else to tell, Luna decided now would be as good as ever to sleep in her chilled bed.

* * *

_Now at midnight all the agents_

_And the superhuman crew_

_Come out and round up everyone_

_That knows more than they do_

A/N: So, based on this one's reception, I'll continue or not. I own nothing, so there. Anyway, please r/r. Thanks to my beta Rose. And so Aideu.


	2. Absent Friends

The Order

Absent Friends

* * *

The body of Neville was laid to rest at the base of the first oak he planted, near his parents' remains. It was a somber affair with only his closest of friends going. Among them, one shadowy figure was there to pay his respects. The blackest of silk covered his face in shadow, while he alone carried a bundle of White Lilies. As the small crowd slowly left the cemetery, he laid them on the casket and left without talking to another soul. 

Harry and Ginny both paid their respects. Harry remembered when he first realized how different Neville became when the war took his innocence.

_Flashback_

The smoky room smelled between dry sex and old liquor. It was a place not to remember, but one for forgetting. Most of the older Aurors found the bar to be a joy in such dark times, drinking away all the things they had to do for peace. Maybe paying for a witch waiting outside for some time alone with a John, away from wizarding problems.

At first, Neville didn't enjoy the bar one bit. Slowly, though, it became his home. As the list of things he done grew darker, he spent that much more time there. Harry found him there, right after he ended the war. Right outside was the minister on Parade, with confetti and noise, drawing a large crowd.

"Goddamn fireworks." Neville complained when they started going off. "They don't know what we had to grow through. But they reap our benefits just the same. Goddamn it, look at them…"

Outside the bar, the world seemed noisy, bright, and fake. The crowd outside was just everyday wizards, too busy to do anything about the war. Too busy to help, not doing enough to get killed.

"It wasn't their fight, Neville. Most of them don't even…." Harry tried to explain to himself as much as Neville.

"Bullshit. They could of done anything, but they didn't. Look at me, Harry." Neville ordered "Look at me. Do you remember at school? When I was horrible at everything that mattered? Look at me, and tell me after I've killed more Death Eaters then I can count, that those people outside could still of done nothing!"

Harry couldn't answer his friend. A girl, oblivious to the war inside Neville walked and stood behind him.

"Neville," came a feminine voice, "I got to tell you something. I'm pregnant with your child."

"Oh no…." Neville groaned as Harry only watched.

"What are we going to do, lover?"

"Fuck you. That baby can't be mine."

"You're the only one I have slept with. I know it's yours," the woman exclaimed.

"Fuck off!" Neville could only say as he downed another clear colored drink.

Harry saw the witch grew too angry, too quick. With a quick motion, she pulled out her wand. "_Flagrante_" she spelled.

The curse hit Neville's right side of the face. He let out a scream of pain as he turned and punched the mother, stopping her spell. Harry saw the side that was hit with the curse. His red eye stood in stark contrast with the now black and charcoaled mask. He pulled out his wand, despite that the woman on the floor lost her own.

"You stupid bitch!" Neville exclaimed. "_Reducto_." He said as he aimed for the woman's chest. His aim was true, and the woman turned into another corpse.

After a moment of silence with Neville holding his black face. "You know she was unarmed, Neville, right?"

"What does it matter, Harry? She's dead now…"

"You could of stunned her."

"And you could of stopped me from killing her. I've been watching you Harry. You don't give a damn about us normal wizards, that power you have has changed you. You could of made the curse hit the floor, hell, you could of fucking changed it into a ticking charm! But no, instead, you just watched me kill a woman." With that, Neville left, leaving Harry alone with a dead mother.

"Healer!" Neville shouted.

* * *

Ron was also in pensive mood… 

_Flashback_

Below the two of them, Diagon Alley was in chaos.

"Damn Minister." A younger Ron said. "Like the public needed to know about us…"

"Well, he told…." Longbottom started to say, before blasting off a gassing curse into another group of wizards. "Well, he told them anyway. And it's not like Rita's article didn't help us any…. Back off from that store!" the last part he bellowed.

The public had always been against Voldemort, but believed the ministry had played a bigger role then it had. When it turned out a vigilante group stopped him, the ministry condemned their actions as lawless, and with a helping hand from the Daily Prophet, made the public think them as ruthless, lawless killers. Now, the only thing stopping them these crowds looting were the same vigilantes, since the Aurors own heroics were downplayed (along with their pay) and were currently on strike.

"I really don't like this." Ron complained again.

"Don't worry. One of my father's old friends told me their negotiations will be coming to an end soon."

"No, it's not that. It's that…. OK, back in the war, we had Death Eaters. We had the public to protect. But now, it is the public we're fighting." Ron started to explain, as Longbottom again gassed the crowd.

"What, don't like protecting society from itself? I kinda like it, things being weird like this. It's like everyone's got all their cards on the table. Now let's show them who owns these streets." Longbottom finished off as he placed a Bubblehead charm on himself and running off into the nauseous mist he created moments earlier.

_End Flashback_

Ron found it hard to take that the clumsy kid he knew at Hogwarts became what he did. The war hardened him, that was true, but so did the tortures he put himself through. Taking off after his grandmother's killers alone really changed him from that clumsy boy Ron remembered. He started doing more for the war besides just the support side he grew up in. He started taking on so much work for the Order, most other members would claim they'd still be fighting it if not for Longbottom's efforts.

Ron didn't pay attention as either the hooded man leave, nor Luna follow him.

* * *

The gentleman had the darkest of black robes on, charmed to absorb all light. It was used exclusively by old wizarding families to pay final respects to friends and family. He walked from the cemetery to a much older neighborhood, not feeling like apperating just yet. He didn't pay attention to the sneaking Luna behind him. After fifteen minutes of walking alone, he decided enough was enough, and apperated. 

Fortunately for Luna, she had friends in high places. Namely the ones who had all the cool gadgets, like a address locator. Looking like a cell phone and working a residual magic, it could dial you into an apperation, portkey, or Floo address of anywhere recently traveled by a target. In busy streets, it was useless because everyone's magic overcrowded the sensors, but for one lonely signal to follow would be easy enough.

* * *

Draco Malfoy didn't think Longbottom was a friend by no means. However he owed Neville at least to attend his funeral. But far be it to mean he had to let people think it was a Malfoy who was there. He threw his Mourning coat at the wall, only to have elf-magic take it to storage before hitting the floor. He walked up the grand staircase, pocketing his cuff links and other jewelry he didn't plan to sleep with. 

The magic in the Manor willed on the lights as he passed them, only to have them flicker out once another one was lit. It gave Draco the impression that the Malfoy residence was slowly dying, because it was. Not all of the war's scars were as visual as Longbottom's, but Draco's ran just as deep. Most of the girls Draco dated had died, either by Death Eaters or his own Order. Now, his only pure-blooded option were already taken, and Draco left the Dark Lord's camp to have some integrity left as a Malfoy, not to squander it on some half-blooded or Muggle born immediately after. He'd rather the Line die proud.

And the Manor seemed to know this. So Draco's curse was his life. Knowing the history of the wizarding world was so intertwined with his own family, so mixed, and now they were to die because he couldn't find a suitable mate.

Draco opened his bathroom door to finish undressing. As he did, a petite figure opened a barrage of stunning spells onto Draco, who hadn't even know he was under attack.

Draco awoke to find himself magically and physically tied to a chair. Behind him, he heard some rustling through papers on his desk.

"Why did you attend Neville's funeral, Draco?"

"I…. don't know what you're talking about…" He said, trying to turn his head to look at the familiar voice he just couldn't place just yet.

Draco sat in silence for a minute as the attacker continued to look through papers.

"What's this I see with my little eye? You visited a muggle Doctor, Draco?" said the nearly sing-song voice.

"Yeah, yeah, I got to. Nothing wizards can fix." He tried to explain as he attempted to break free of his bonds.

Draco was worried some escaped Death Eater had came for retribution. Imagine his surprise, instead of seeing a demented, scrawny figure of a murderer, to only see Luna.

"You loopy fool!" He shouted. "Why are you doing this?"

"Eh, I got bored waiting in the shower. So, what do you have?" she said, flipping her eyelashes at the last part.

"It's cancer," he dead-panned

"Wizards can get cancer?"

"Yeah. You know the kind you can get better from?" Luna nodded. "Well, it's the other kind."

"Oh. So, why did you attend the funeral. A Malfoy doesn't consort with our type of people." She quoted him saying from years earlier.

"Can you let me go now?"

"Not until you tell me," she sung. She also hit his left hand with an ink-well, breaking the expensive ink onto the more expensive chair, and sending shards of glass into his hand.

"Fuck you. Goddamn crazy bitch. He broke in, I don't know, a week ago or so. He was as drunk as hell, he drank a bottle and a half of my finest whiskey. He said he found something fierce, and he was sure he crossed the line…

_Flashback_

"I really did it this time. This is bigger than me…" Longbottom took another shot from the bottle.

"You're a part of this, Draco, did you know that? Nah, if I thought ya did, I'd of strangled ya myself right here. Nope, it's me against the shadows. Don't know 'em, but they know me…eee.eee" with the last part he laughed out trying to sing, only to break down crying after a moment.

"It's not fair! It's bloody not fair, Malfoy. You… you don't know what you're going to do to the world. It's going to go… poof… and then," he took another bottle, and broke it against the foot board, only to down most of the drink after that. "Nah. To cruel for you to know…"Neville said while Draco only could look on in shock at the Auror.

"We all gotta go Malfoy, I think I'm next, but maybe it's you, or Shea, or I don't know. Something terrible comes this way, ya know, Draco?" His head rolled in drunkenness. "I was only doin my job, Malfoy, my bloody job! But no, now they're after me. Now they're after all of us…"

_End Flashback_

"And then he left. I don't know what happened, or who he found, I thought just some Dark Lord campaigners or something. But now, now after how he went, I'm not so sure."

"Death Eaters would of left dark mark. Of course. Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. I'll take my leave." And she did. "Oh, and Draco, hope you die soon!" she said as casually you would goodbye.

After she left, Draco finally realized, "Loony bitch. Let me GO!!!"

* * *

_And I'm up while the dawn is breaking _

_Even though my heart is aching_

_I should be drinking a toast_

_To absent friends_

_Instead of these Comedians._

* * *

A/N: Well, here's chapter two. Ten more to go. Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I'll try to answer all questions either personally or within the next chapter. Please remember reading EVERYTHING IN CAPS sucks, I don't do it, neither should you when you review. Thanks, and appreciate any feedback. For anyone who has read Watchmen, this should seem familiar. But I'm going somewhere else, Elsewhere…… 

And so Aideu…


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